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Russia blames Poland for starting World War II

A few days ago the official website of Russia’s Ministry of Defence published a 4,000 word article by a Russian military historian in which Poland was accused of not acceding of Hitler’s demands, and thereby starting World War II, AP reports. The article, entitled “Fictions and Falsifications in Evaluating the USSR’s Role On the Eve of World War II,” tells the story of how, before the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1 1939, Hitler demanded that Poland hand over control of the city of Danzig, and also the land corridor between Germany and the territory now known as Kaliningrad.

“Everyone who has studied the history of the Second World War without prejudice knows that it began because of Poland’s refusal to satisfy the German claims,” the article’s author states. Although the item has now been removed from the Defence Ministry’s site, it can still be read in Russian here.